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on Dec 11, 15 • posted by rhoggett •

Join the Energy Policy Group

Join the Energy Policy Group – two potential PhD Scholarships, 17th January 2016 application deadline

11th December 2015

The EPG is advertising for two PhD scholarships: Markets for Future Power Networks and Energy System Change and Energy Storage. Details are below, and the application deadline is 17 January 2016. The EPG is a small, very friendly energy group based on the Falmouth Campus of the University of Exeter. It is an absolutely wonderful, ‘cool’ place to live, particularly if you like social innovation, nature, walking, the sea, surfing and so on. The EPG provides an academic hub for the interdisciplinary study of energy policy. We place sustainability and change at the heart of debates about energy policy and governance. We work collaboratively with stakeholders and researchers on the economics and politics of energy to find new and innovative approaches for enabling the transition to a low carbon, sustainable and affordable energy system. As far as possible, the group is run on non-hierarchical lines and in a family-friendly manner. We like hard-working, responsible, straightforward, intellectually- honest, considerate team players who are easy-going, good fun and will pitch in when necessary. If you think you like the sound of this and you have the necessary experience as set out below, then please do apply. Otherwise, please pass this blog around your networks or to anyone you think might be interested.

Markets for Future Power Networks Ref: 2062

Energy systems are changing rapidly around the world. Global public discourse has moved behind a more decentralised, renewable energy and energy efficiency based energy system, primarily because of two technology changes. Firstly the falling costs of renewable electricity technologies particularly offshore wind and solar photovoltaics. Secondly better control technologies that are enabling new ways to operation and manage the system including: two-way electricity movement; interconnection from the household through to regional markets and networks; smart grid applications; and more flexibility through demand side response/storage. This is changing the nature of power networks and creating new business models/patterns of ownership/ social preferences.

Most electricity markets were set up to suit fossil fuel and nuclear generation, but zero marginal cost renewable electricity is: displacing fossil fuels; bringing down peak prices; and reducing the need for nuclear baseload. Many EU countries already have 25% or more of their electricity capacity derived from renewables, leading the European Commission to look at the design of European electricity markets. It focuses on developing flexible (e.g. flexible generation, demand side response, storage, etc), integrated energy systems including networks and markets. They have to be capable of maximising local supply and demand opportunities through local energy markets which also link to national markets and system operation whilst also incorporating flexibility through interconnectors and storage. The Commission wants to ensure that the governance structure within Europe (ie rules and incentives within markets/networks) keeps up with technological change for the good of Europe.

Having an energy infrastructure that is fit for purpose is of fundamental importance to a low carbon future. A key challenge is accommodating new technologies within the existing energy supply network, whilst developing it for the future. Beyond the technologies this has to include the wider market and governance framework which will shape how power networks and markets develop. In light of this and within the context of the EU level changes, this PhD would explore market designs of power networks in Great Britain. It would analyse what market designs for future electricity systems are already in place, or about to be put in place globally. This would include what attempts at local energy markets have occurred in GB. It would also explore any barriers which might exist in GB governance to such market designs; and it would explore what would need to be changed if GB was to alter its market design to suit a future power system.

Whilst there needs to be an ability to understand how markets work and how networks are regulated, this is primarily a governance PhD – albeit about detailed rules and incentives – rather than an economic or engineering approach. For those who are interested please look at the IGov website (www.exeter.ac.uk/igov).

Energy System Change and Energy Storage Ref: 2063

In order to tackle climate change, we need to make far-reaching changes to our energy system, whilst also ensuring security and affordability. These changes include the development and deployment of new low carbon technologies; changes to existing energy infrastructure; changes to the governance of energy systems in respect to institutions, rules and regulations, markets and policy frameworks; and changes to the role of people within the energy system.

New technologies and new ways of doing things will play an important role in enabling innovation and change in the energy system. Increasingly it is suggested that the UK energy system will move away from a large centralised model, towards a more decentralised approach, with supply and demand being balanced at a more local level. This is likely to include the increased deployment of some intermittent renewable energy technologies, meaning that output may not be as predictable as it has been in the past.

At the moment, very little electricity is stored because supplying electricity from fossil fuel plants is cheap. However, to reduce carbon emissions and to balance out the variable production of electricity from wind and solar plants, the possibilities of storage have become both more economic and of more interest. Energy storage is important because as well as in electricity, it can also play an important role in the heat and transport sectors. It is also seen by the Government as one of the 8 important families of technologies, based on the UK’s scientific and business capabilities.

This project will seek to examine the state and application of energy storage within a transformation to a sustainable energy system. The proposed PhD will (1) look at the economics of energy storage now and into the future; (2) understand the regulatory barriers now in place; and (3) the regulatory and governance changes that will be needed to enable the potential deployment of storage into the UK energy system. It will do this at a variety of scales, looking at the: international scene where deployment is already happening; the network scale trials that have been taking place within the UK; the work that has been happening within the Southwest, including with households & business within Cornwall.

Collectively this research will better enable the challenges to the uptake of storage with the GB local, regional and national energy system to be understood. As well as identifying barriers and opportunities for the development of effective energy storage policies and governance arrangements for the UK.

Academic Supervisors:

Professor Catherine Mitchell, Geography, College of Life and Environmental Sciences

Dr Bridget Woodman, Geography, College of Engineering, Mathematics and Physical Sciences

Location: University of Exeter, Penryn Campus, near Falmouth, Cornwall

About the awards:

These projects are in competition for funding by the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) Doctoral Training Partnership to commence in September 2016. The studentships will provide funding for a stipend (currently £14,057 per annum for 2015/16), research costs of £3,000 and UK/EU tuition fees at Research Council rates for 3 years.

Entry requirements:

The PhDs are situated in the area of energy policy, and as such are inter- and multi-disciplinary topics. It is energy policy that applicants must be interested in, and they must be prepared to work from that dimension. Applicants for this studentship therefore must have obtained a Second Class UK Honours degree, or the equivalent qualifications gained outside the UK, in an appropriate area such as science, technology, economics, history or politics. They should also have completed an Appropriate Masters.

If English is not your first language you will need to have achieved at least 6.5 in IELTS (and no less than 6.0 in any section) by the start of the project (alternative tests may be acceptable, see http://www.exeter.ac.uk/postgraduate/apply/english/)

This studentship will be funded by the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) and is only available to UK and EU nationals. You must have resided in the UK for three years prior to starting the studentship to receive funding for tuition fees and a stipend. If you are an EU national and have not resided in the UK for three years prior to the start of the studentship you would not be eligible for a stipend, so you would need to have an alternative source of funding for your living costs. Candidates from outside the EU are not eligible for this studentship. For full details on the residence requirements please see https://www.epsrc.ac.uk/skills/students/help/eligibility/